THIRD PERSON
"You're joking right?! You wouldn't hit me- "
"I'll be careful not to break your nails." The figure said, taking off the Housen uniform jacket over their shoulders, revealing an all-black ensemble as well.
A spaghetti strapped bralette over a black cropped tube top, black belt flared trousers with a belt design at the knees and a pair of black cowboy boots.
"Shall we?" Watanabe Honoka smirked at the two, tossing her hair over her shoulder as her eyes gleamed in delight.
"You're going to regret-" Kaori yelped as Tsudanuma fell backwards as Honoka delivered a turning kick to his stomach.
He groaned in pain as he struggled to get up as Honoka hit him once more with her foot, this time to his jaw.
"Do ballerinas have that much force in their foot?!" He complained as he slowly got up, screaming as Honoka slid her foot underneath him, causing him to fall once more. He groaned, rubbing the back of his head as Honoka placed her foot above his ribs, lightly stepping on him as the heel of her boot made him groan in more pain than he already was.
"Give up? Had enough pain yet?" Honoka teased as Tsudanuma suddenly cried and just laid there. Honoka laughed before landing her eyes on Kaori who tried to look unfazed but she could tell the latter was scared.
Kaori noticed a silver bracelet on her wrist, the one Yuken had given her previously and her anger grew as she targeted Honoka's wrist but Honoka dodged her.
"That's not yours." She spat, removing the bracelet and placing it in her back pocket which only infuriated Kaori even more.
"Why do you get to have that? Why did you take what's supposed to be mine?! My life was perfect before you transferred to Seiho! You and Ueda Yui! The love from our peers, the respect from our teachers, the lead roles in every recital! And now, you have taken Yuken senpai from me?! I hate you!" Kaori yelled, grabbing Honoka by the hair as the latter slid her foot underneath her, making her fall like Tsudanuma.
Kaori yelled in frustration as she jumped back up, hitting Honoka's face, leaving a bruise. Honoka touched her cheek. Kaori grabbed a steel pipe from the corner, letting out a frustrated scream as she raised it above her head.
"I wish you'd just disappear!" Honoka grabbed another steel pipe, thankfully, and the sound of pipes hitting each other echoed through the gym as the two girls continued to fight. Kohei's eyes flickered to where they were and momentarily got distracted as he saw his little sister fall to the ground.
This gave Tsukasa just enough time to grab the wrench in his hand as they both lost their balance, landed on a steel pipe shelf and breaking their fall. Kohei groaned as he crawled towards the wrench, pissed off as he grabbed Tsukasa by the collar, choking him as he prepared to hit him with the weapon which was intercepted by Fujio kicking him.
"Hey, Suzaki!" Ryo moved at Kohei's request, setting his eyes on Fujio, not realizing that Tsukasa had stood up and delivered a blow to Ryo's jaw, making him stumble backwards.
Fujio yelped and placed Tsukasa's arm over his shoulder as the pair struggled to stand.
"What's taking so long?! Hurry up and finish them!" Kohei shouted as Ryo just stood their, catching his breath.
Coughing and stumbling in, Yuken caught his breath as he groaned in pain. Every part of his body hurt but he let out a sigh of relief as he saw only Ryo and Kohei stood undefeated.
"Ah, just the two left, I see." He commented.
"AH!" A scream made them all look up and Yuken looked in shock as he saw Honoka drag Kaori towards the edge, making them both fall and he sprinted towards her just as Kohei caught his sister. Yuken caught Honoka, making them tumble around for a few spins before ultimately stopping with Honoka on top of him.
Honoka blushed as she placed her hands on his chest while Yuken steadied her with his arms on her waist. They both panted as they stared into each other's eyes.
"Hi." The younger girl meekly greeted as she blushed, making Yuken giggle at the girl in his arms.
"Hello darling." He greeted and took in her face, still beautiful despite the scratch marks and bruises on her arms and cheeks.
"If you guys wanna be all flirty, then do it later." Yuken groaned as Honoka hurriedly got off of him and he sat up as well.
"Don't be jealous now Todoroki-chan-" He was interrupted by Kaori attacking Honoka once more but the latter was quicker as she gently turned Kaori's neck, making her pass out at one. Honoka then threw her toward her brother who caught her with grace.
"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!" Kohei spat.
"She just fainted. It's called Carotid sinus syndrome. It's reflex syncope, which means a temporary loss of consciousness caused by a sudden drop in blood pressure and a decrease in blood flow to the brain. In carotid sinus syncope, the trigger is the stimulation of the carotid sinus, a small area located in the neck near the carotid arteries. So when I turned her head, it caused it to pressure her artery, making her faint." She explained as everyone momentarily forgot the fight.
"What?" Kohei blinked and Honoka sighed.
"You give them an explanation and it's like they're deaf." She mumbled, earning a laugh from Yuken and Todoroki.
"What did you say?" He yelled at Honoka and she glared at him.
"I said, you're going to lose Kohei-senpai. There's only two of you and four of us." Honoka pointed out, unaware of Ryo's gaze on her.
"Huh? Are you stupid?! I've still got tons of soldiers!" He defended himself and smiled just as the door opened. His smile quickly dropped when he saw who it was.
"We're finished outside!" Rao yelled.
"We might have gone a bit overboard. They all ran away." Mercy bragged, laughing as Yuken complimented them.
"Suzuran isn't the only one finished!" Jinkawa yelled as he entered the gym as well.
"Housen's done too!" Sawamura announced as the rest of Housen and Oya entered the building, cheering as they knew they had one.
"Oh? Honoka-chan?" Honoka looked over the other side as Nakagoshi and Yasushi waved at her.
"Damn Honoka-chan!"
"She's gorgeous!"
Honoka blushed and smiled as the rest of Housen and Oya gushed over her. Her eyes slightly widened when she saw Suzuran as well. She acknowledged their presence by giving them a small smile and bowing as greeting. They seemed to take a shine towards the girl as they'd never met or even spoken to a girl in so long much less one who was so pretty and demure looking. And yet, she didn't look scared of them which made the boys even more comfortable around her.
"Hey! You're making yourself look bad." Magoroku of Suzaran pointed out as Kohei threw a temper tantrum like a 5-year-old getting his candy stolen.
"Hey! Hurry up! Go fight! I'm paying you good money! Go earn it! Hear me?! Go earn it!" Kohei yelled, pushing the rest of Senomon who were driven into the gym out of sheer fear of Oya, Housen and Suzuran. They all stood up but made no move to fight but rather ran out the doors, leaving only Kohei, Ryo, Kaori who was slowly waking up, Tsudanuma who was unconscious and Saboten who was cuffed to the pipes inside one of the equipment rooms.
Everyone else looked on as Ryo moved in front of Kohei, defending him from the rest as they prepared to close in.
"It's not over yet." He stated much to Kohei's surprise.
"Fine. I'll finish it, then." Fujio stated, clearly exhausted as he stood up. They both looked at each other before screaming and breaking into a run as their fists collided once more.
"That Senomon guy isn't half bad." Mercy commented, impressed by Ryo's strength.
"Suzuran is full of guys like that." Binzo pointed out.
"Why is he still fighting at this point?" Yuken clicked his tongue in disbelief as he stood next to Honoka and beside her was Todoroki, helping Tsukasa stand.
"Why does he go so far for someone like that?" Todoroki questioned as Honoka frowned.
"I'm sure he sees things differently than we do." Tsukasa pointed out.
"This Suzaki guy, it seems like he values Amagai a whole lot. No one would go this far if they didn't in some way care about a person." Honoka added, earning a nod from Tsukasa.
They all gasped as both guys delivered painful blows to their jaws but Fujio fell first.
"I won... I won! I won the fight! Hey! Did you see that?! I won the fight! You saw that? Right?!" Kohei bragged as Ryo struggled to even stand.
The rest of the groups worried if Fujio was going to lose just like that.
"So irritating!" Fujio yelled from the ground as Kohei's smile dropped.
"Hey... It's time to finish this. I can't let you win." Fujio declared as he and Ryo took a breath, preparing to fight for the last time.
"The top... belongs to Senomon!" Ryo yelled which was followed by screams from both of them as their fists met one last time, this time Ryo was the one who collapsed to the floor.
"I lost..? There's no way.."
"Fujio!" Todoroki yelled as Kohei ran towards Fujio, a small knife in hand and they all gasped when the knife pierced through. Fujio and Kohei looked down in shock.
Kohei hadn't stabbed Fujio because Ryo had stopped the blade.
"What are you thinking?! You can't be using a thing like this!" Ryo angrily scolded, throwing the knife away as Kohei looked at him in shock.
"We're going to enjoy... that view, right?" Ryo continued, grasping onto Kohei's knees like he was desperate for him to listen.
"That's what I've always thought. That's why I always stood by you. You don't even remember, do you?" He asked as Kohei continued to look at him in confusion.
"Sorry... for not being useful." He said as he collapsed to the floor exhausted.
"They sure are tough... Oya High. I guess now we're their pawns." He ended, looking at Kohei sadly.
"What are you saying?" Fujio argued, causing both Kohei and Ryo to look at him in surprise.
"You lost one fight. We aim for the top and we fight. But who's on top nor bottom doesn't matter." Fujio continued, looking at his friends.
"Just look around and see the friends fighting by your side. Isn't that enough? Looking down from the sky we're all standing on the same earth." He ended as Kohei looked at Ryo.
"Hey... Let's start over. Can we be friends? Ko-chan?" Ryo asked in a small voice, looking up at Kohei who fought back tears.
"Give me a break." Kohei spat as Ryo looked down, defeated as Kohei looked to Fujio.
"We lost this time. But we're going to crush you." Kohei said, crouching down before continuing.
"Ryo and I! We'll crush you losers together!" He exclaimed, earning a small smile from Fujio and a sob from Ryo.
"Don't cry, you moron." Kohei joked, lightly smacking Ryo's face away.
"Sorry." Ryo answered as everyone began to leave.
"You're pretty strong. Let's do this again." Fujio said, pointing at Ryo, chuckling as Yasushi placed his arm over his shoulder, letting Fujio lean against him.
"Let's go home!" Jinkawa yelled as everyone yelled yes, moving out of the gym slowly.
"I need a month off from school." Yuken exclaimed, everyone seemingly agreeing with him. He grabbed Honoka's hand as the rest moved to leave. The pair walked hand in hand as Honoka slowed her pace in walking, taking into account Yuken's state.
They all walked out of the gym with rivalries slowly disappearing and new friendships formed.
"Hey Honoka-chan, I didn't know you could fight like that!" Fujio gushed over the girl who was happily chatting with Binzo and Magoroku, her hand still clasping Yuken's as they walked to the exit.
"I had some help from Todoroki and-"
"Huh? Sachio?" Yuken pointed out, looking near the entrance.
"Sachio!" Sawamura exclaimed in surprise.
"Hey! Sachio!" Jinkawa yelled, running over to greet their leader.
"Just got back and then this. Sheesh." Sachio complained but smiled at his friends.
"Sachi-kun!" Honoka exclaimed, running over to hug him which he lovingly welcomed. She pulled away as the older boy patted her head. Sachio and Yui had a very good and loving sibling relationship but she wasn't very affectionate with her brother as she was with her boyfriend, Shojii Sawamura so Honoka was a great comfort for him.
"How come I didn't get a hug earlier?" Yuken complained much to Sachio's annoyance and Honoka's glee. She skipped back to him and swiftly kissed his cheek, leaving him in shock.
"Oi Odajima! Are you gonna be fine? Or are you dying inside?" Yasushi teased as everyone laughed at the latter as he reached to touch where Honoka had kissed him with a sly smile.
"Oh! Sachi!" Fujio ran over, saying hi to his friend who looked at him warmly. His expression changed when he saw Rao.
"What the hell? Why is Suzuran here?" He quietly asked, surprised to find them there.
"Oh, uhh, I know you told me not to, but... I just had to meet Rao. And now we're friends!" Fujio explained happily and Sachio just nodded, understanding his friend's rather kind attitude.
"Long time no see, Sachio." Rao greeted as Sachio stared back at him, still hurt over the fact that he had lost to him in a fight a year prior. Suzuran turned to leave first and Honoka waved goodbye, telling them to take care.
"Rao! Let's fight one-on-one sometime soon." Fujio asked and Rao looked at him fondly.
"Me too." Sachio added, looking at Rao. "I want revenge." He ended and Fujio looked at him excitedly.
"Oh! Let's do a three-way battle! Without causing anyone else trouble!" Fujio gushed just as Rao held up his fist and pointed it toward him with Fujio doing the same. He turned to Sachio who looked annoyed but slowly did the same.
Honoka laughed as she saw Binzo do it as well, looking like he was about to cry before Kamui gently placed his fist down, nudging him to leave.
All was well.
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A FEW WEEKS LATER
Everything was good and peaceful. No fights or conflicts of any sort occurred. For once, it was normal again.
Housen continued on with their training with Monji eventhough Sachio had already returned. Kama and the rest of Senomon (mostly Sabakan) were charged with community service by the SWORD district for public disturbance. And Oya High were getting excited with the idea of blind dates.
Speaking of dates, Honoka was heading to her date with Yuken. They were going to meet up at a diner where Madoka and Shinya often dated and Shinya had recommended a lot of sweets for the younger to try. She was running late and accidentally slipped on a wet surface on the road.
She braced herself for impact, expecting to feel the harsh pavement but it never came. She opened her eyes and realized someone had caught her.
His arms were wrapped around her waist to steady her and his eyes bore deeply into hers.
"T-thank you....Suzaki-senpai."
She thanked the latter who gave her a small smile, looking nothing like the man she saw at Senomon a few days ago. He seemed more relaxed and less harsh.
"No problem. Honoka right?" He asked as she nodded, giving him a kind smile.
"Watanabe Honoka. I know we already met but this is our first formal introduction so- I'm rambling aren't I?" She joked, earning a laugh from Ryo who looked at her in admiration.
Was this really the girl who beat up Kohei's baby sister?
"Nice to meet you Honoka-chan." He said, earning a sweet smile from the girl who looked at her watch and gasped.
"So sorry to cut this short but I have to be somewhere and I'm running late-"
"Can I have your number?" He asked, Honoka looking at him in surprise.
"S-sorry. You don't know me that well and I understand-"He was cut off when Honoka handed him a slip of paper with her number.
"I don't judge people that easily. Feel free to contact me if you want someone to talk to, I'm a very good listener. Bye for now, senpai!" She greeted, leaving Ryo there who was holding her number in his hands.
"You really don't remember me, do you Honey-chan?"
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I decided to add one more chapter after this because I love you guys!
Your support and love has made this so much more fulfilling to write!